Chapter 5

A heavy silence settled over the drawing room.

Marquis Crowde narrowed his eyes as he studied Tristan.

There could only be one reason the duke would ignore every rule of etiquette and appear at such an hour. He had not arrived in the carriage meant to escort his bride, but alone on a jet-black warhorse, without even a single attendant.

From the moment the butler announced Duke Tristan Carlisle’s arrival, the marquis had already guessed.

The duke knew Eliana had disappeared.

But how?

Even he had only learned of Eliana’s escape a few hours ago. Tristan, on the other hand, had left his duchy more than ten days earlier to fetch her.

How could he possibly have known?

“I’ll take your silence as confirmation that my suspicions were correct.”

“It sounds less like a suspicion and more like certainty,” Marquis Crowde replied evenly. “What brings you here at this hour, Duke Carlisle?”

He had no intention of letting this unreadable young duke control the conversation.

There was no point pretending ignorance when the other man clearly knew everything already. Desperately trying to hide the truth would only make him look foolish.

Besides…

Ever since Tristan entered the room, the marquis had sensed a faint trace of disgust lingering behind those dark crimson eyes. It grated on his nerves.

“I thought I should offer my greetings in advance, despite the late hour,” Tristan said calmly. “After all, it seems Lady Eliana won’t have the chance to say goodbye to her family.”

“…You know where she is?”

“I’ve been fortunate.”

His lips curved into a faint smile.

“I’m afraid Lady Eliana hasn’t been.”

For the briefest instant, surprise flashed across the marquis’s face before disappearing.

Tristan didn’t miss it.

The corner of his mouth lifted ever so slightly.

Silence returned.

The already frigid atmosphere grew even heavier.

“Gilbert. Bring me the marriage contract.”

The marquis was the first to break the silence.

At his command, the butler promptly returned with a stack of documents.

The marriage contract had been retrieved from Eliana’s room, where it had been left crumpled beyond recognition on her desk. The maids had complained endlessly while trying to smooth it out, but the wrinkles stubbornly remained.

Tristan, however, paid no attention to its condition.

He simply confirmed his own signature on the final page, glanced at the empty space reserved for Eliana’s name, folded the document, and tucked it inside his coat.

That cold, businesslike attitude only irritated the marquis further.

For a noblewoman to flee before her wedding was a stain upon the family’s honor.

No matter how indifferent the Duke of Carlisle was to high society or public opinion, surely no man could remain unfazed after the woman he had proposed to had run away.

Yet not a trace of anger, humiliation, or wounded pride could be found on Tristan’s face.

If anything…

He looked as though he had expected this all along.

“I’ll bring Lady Eliana safely to Carlisle,” Tristan said. “If you regret not having the chance to say your farewells, you’re welcome to visit my territory anytime afterward.”

“…And if she refuses until the very end?”

“I’ll persuade her.”

His voice became noticeably firmer.

“Because I want it to be Lady Eliana.”

For the first time, a flicker of desire crossed the perpetually cynical duke’s face.

Seeing it, Marquis Crowde found himself recalling their meeting during the Empire’s Founding Festival.

When the marriage proposal from Duke Carlisle had first arrived, the marquis had been utterly bewildered.

The messenger had insisted the details would be discussed during the festival, but he had remained skeptical.

After all, the duke had never appeared at social gatherings.

He avoided noble society so thoroughly that people wondered if he even existed.

The man who was said to spend his days hunting monsters in the northern frontier forests, living there more often than in his own estate, had suddenly appeared at the Founding Festival.

The nobles had stared at him as though they’d seen a ghost.

Yet Tristan himself had approached with complete composure…

Wearing that same unreadable expression.

“I wish to marry Lady Eliana.”

When the marquis had asked why it had to be her, Tristan simply answered that he desired a quiet marriage, away from society’s attention.

But…

The desire hidden within those crimson eyes had seemed far too intense to be explained by such a simple reason.

“Then I shall take my leave. My apologies for disturbing you so late.”

Pulled from his thoughts by the quiet farewell, the marquis looked up.

Tristan had already turned toward the door after offering a perfectly courteous bow.

“Duke Carlisle.”

The marquis called after him just as he reached the exit.

“…Please.”

His voice was low.

“Take good care of Eliana.”

No reply came.

For an instant, the marquis thought he saw a mocking smile pass across the duke’s lips.

But it vanished just as quickly.

Tristan merely gave a gentle nod before walking away.

Eliana awoke feeling as though her skull had been split in two.

Her vision refused to focus.

She could only blink sluggishly until a shrill female voice pierced the haze.

“Can you even call that an excuse? If you had to choose between a perfect apple and one covered in bruises, which would you pick?”

“So now this is my fault? She suddenly started screaming and trying to run away! What was I supposed to do? How was I supposed to know she’d already woken up? If anyone’s to blame, it’s that idiot Pito for not doing his job properly!”

Through the buzzing voices, one name reached Eliana’s ears.

Pito.

Her thoughts slowly began to clear.

Pito…

Bron had introduced him as the man who would escort her safely to Serapiano Monastery.

She had met him beneath Alderon’s clock tower.

Together they had gone to an inn.

After a light meal, she’d retired to the room he had arranged, trying to organize the whirlwind of thoughts filling her head.

Then…

Strangers had burst into the room.

Someone forced medicine down her throat.

After that…

Nothing.

“Hey, what was I supposed to do when she barely touched her food? Maybe she noticed the drug. She only swallowed a few spoonfuls of soup. Stop making such a fuss over one little scratch on her face. She’s the daughter of a marquis. She’s worth far more than the trash we’ve dealt with before.”

Pito chuckled.

The woman with the sharp voice grumbled under her breath before walking toward Eliana.

Eliana instinctively shut her eyes again.

Her entire body trembled uncontrollably.

Fortunately, her wrists and ankles were tied, making the shaking less noticeable, but she desperately tensed every muscle, trying to hide it.

“Hmm… really? A marquis’s daughter?”

The woman ran her fingers through Eliana’s hair.

“No wonder it’s so soft. Such fair skin too. I figured you were some rich little lady the moment you paid a gold coin for a single flower.”

A chill ran down Eliana’s spine.

A flower…?

What was this woman talking about?

Her heart pounded violently.

“Wait… a marquis’s daughter? Don’t tell me you mean Marquis Crowde?”

“That’s what they said. Apparently she’s adopted or something. Sounds like the family didn’t care much about her anyway. Either way, there won’t be any trouble.”

At that moment…

The old wooden door creaked open.

“We’ll leave in about an hour, so get everything ready. The roads are a mess after all this rain. Better to head out a little earlier than planned.”

The voice belonged to the slender man who had drugged her.

As his footsteps drew nearer…

Eliana’s blood turned cold.

She knew that voice.

No…

It can’t be…

“Our dear Lady Eliana seems to be awake already.”

The man grabbed her chin roughly.

Pain forced her eyes open.

She stared at the man before her, her face drained of all color.

“…Bron.”

The gentle, dependable servant she had trusted.

“You look quite shocked, my lady.”

Bron smiled warmly.

“You must have a great many questions. I’ll remove the gag for a moment.”

With surprisingly gentle hands, he untied the cloth stuffed into her mouth.

Her lips stung.

Several places had split open.

“B-Bron…”

Her voice trembled uncontrollably.

“W-Why are you doing this…? W-What’s happening…?”

Tears quickly welled up in her pale violet eyes.

Bron carefully wiped them away with his thumb.

“You asked me for help, didn’t you, my lady?”

His smile remained unchanged.

“You said you wanted to leave the Crowde family.”

“So I’m helping you.”

“You said… you were taking me… to Serapiano Monastery…”

Her breathing became ragged.

“What is all this? What… what did you make me drink?”

“My, you’re a difficult young lady.”

Pito clicked his tongue in annoyance.

“Come on now. Think about it.”

He crouched before her.

“Bron sent you here, didn’t he?”

“You bought the flower exactly as he instructed and waited for me.”

“The red anemone.”

“Thanks to you, my purse got a whole lot heavier.”

The woman who had been playing with Eliana’s hair tossed a gold coin into the air with a grin.

She was the flower vendor from Alderon Square.

The very woman who had sold Eliana the red anemone.

“And then you met me.”

“We came to this inn together.”

“You didn’t eat enough for the drug to knock you out completely, but whatever.”

Pito shrugged.

“Then some scary men burst into your room.”

“You lost consciousness.”

“And when you woke up…”

He spread his hands with a mocking smile.

“Your hands and feet were tied.”

“So tell me…”

“What do you think all this means?”

He leaned in until his grin filled her vision.

“You walked straight into a trap.”

“A trap you never had the slightest chance of escaping.”